Thaddeus glanced at the woman by his side, assured that she was doing well. He then pulled a long face and stared at the man who went after Mona. He questioned, “What did you chase after her for?” The man took stock of Thaddeus’ expensive taste in clothes. Intimidated by his commanding presence, the man backed down a little in confronting Mona. “She hit me. Half of my face is swollen,” the man whined as if Thaddeus was the father of the offending daughter while he tattled to the father as the victim of bullying. “Did you hit him?” Thaddeus lowered her head and asked Mona in a soft voice, not putting the blame on her at all. “I can’t believe he’s the one complaining. He started it, so he deserves a beating.” Mona stared daggers at the man. Thaddeus furrowed his brows and reached out to hold Mona’s hands to rub between his palms. “Your hands must be hurting. I’m only a phone away. Just leave this to me the next time.” Mona was dumbstruck, and so was the man standing in the
Surprised, the man lost his manners for a moment and cried out. Mona had an idea who the man was after Thaddeus addressed him as Mr. Foster. The man was likely the richest man in the neighboring city and Sherry’s father. “Yeah. We have two children together.” Getting a grip on himself, James looked at Mona a different way. The stunner must have a couple of tricks up her sleeve to have Thaddeus wrapped around her little finger. “Thaddeus, you’ve got game. You have two children before you’re even married.” James sneered. It was common for men to fool around with women and have children out of wedlock in the business circle. Thaddeus was the first to have the decency and the gall to admit to it. “You’ve got the wrong idea, James. We were married, and our marriage was legal in the eyes of the law. Sorry to let you down, but I’m not that kind of guy.” Upset, James pointed at Mona and questioned Thaddeus, “So, you’re saying that you caused a ruckus and even tried to throw my d
“Are you saying that Bobby has a crush in preschool?” Mona cut Thaddeus off mid-sentence and eagerly asked in the restaurant.Thaddeus pulled out a napkin and reached out to wipe the bits of food on the corner of Mona’s lips. He patiently explained, “You always get ahead of yourself whenever it comes to the kids. Just let me finish.” Putting down her cutlery, Mona quietly looked Thaddeus in the eye and gave her full attention. Once Thaddeus gave an account of what he had seen at the preschool, she let out a sigh of relief. “It sounds like Bobby cares a lot about his classmate. I feel bad for the girl, Megan. Why don’t we invite her to the house for dinner? My heart goes out to her.” Mona was sympathetic to Megan’s situation at home as it invoked her feelings as a mother. She wanted to give Megan some help the best she could. “Sure. I’m sure our son will be happy if you’re glad to do that. You have no idea how much he likes the girl.” Thaddeus made the decision for his son. “
Folding his arms, Thaddeus idly sank into the back of the chair and flashed his bad-boy smirk. “Thank me? How do you plan on thanking me?” Mona curled her lips, stood up, and nonchalantly said, “You get a free meal from me, and that’s it. Take it or leave it.” Thaddeus grinned and watched her from behind as she advanced to the counter to settle the bill. The woman sure had an attitude. After the brief lunch, the pair exited the restaurant and went their own ways. None of them said a word as they simply went on with their business. It was close to two o’clock in the afternoon by the time Mona returned to the jewelry design studio. Ben sat in the lounge area and buried his head in his packed lunch, gulping down the food. Standing at the door, Mona looked around the empty studio. There was not a customer in sight. She turned her attention back to Ben, feeling a catch in her throat. It was just pathetic. She went over and filled a disposable cup with water before placing
Ben took note of Mona’s plan and immediately looked alive. Snapping his fingers, he said, “Alright. Let’s go with your plan. I’ll get ready to go in the next two days.” Mona balled up her fist and made an encouraging gesture. “Cheer up! I believe everything will get better.” “Yes. What about the issue from across the street?” “Leave it to me. They can sue me all they like. How can they twist the story after stealing my stuff? Surely, justice will prevail.” Ben echoed her sentiment, “I know, right? You must let me know if those people give you hell again. I’ll stand up for you.” “Sure. I’ll tell you if anything happens. Go on and finish your lunch.” Rising to her feet, Mona circled around the studio and went to the second floor. This was the space for the designers. Ben had jokingly said that Mona was the lead designer and that they could hire a few people to help her out on the second floor. He even poked fun that the second floor was reserved for Mona’s harem. Past the b
Megan was fixated on Mona without a word. Mona pursed her lips, unable to read what could be going on in the girl’s head. It was a good thing she had a picture of the situation beforehand and understood that Megan was a little withdrawn due to her upbringing. Maybe the girl was scared of strangers. Perhaps Mona was a little too forthcoming and enthusiastic for Megan to accept. With that in mind, Mona ruffled Megan’s hair. “It’s okay if you don’t have a thing for dessert. We can go straight to dinner.” Mona got to her feet and rounded the family up for dinner. Feeling a sudden tug on her sweater, she looked back and saw that it was Megan. The little girl widened her eyes and murmured, “You’re beautiful like the princess in storybooks, Mrs. Fontaine.” Mona smiled. “Thank you for the compliment. You’re pretty too.” Megan responded, “My mommy must be as beautiful as you.” Mona froze a little. The word “mummy” coming from Megan called to Mona’s attention to practice caution.
As a girl, Millie could pick up on the most subtle shifts in her environment. Plus, she easily felt insecure due to the absence of a father in the first years of her life. Thaddeus had spoken with a child psychologist, so he knew the importance of establishing a sense of security for the kids. Hence, Thaddeus had been keeping an eye open to detect any mood changes in Millie. Having received comfort from Thaddeus, Millie happily nestled in his arms. Her face beamed. Mona watched the sweet moment between the father and daughter as Jennifer’s words came into her mind. Jennifer wanted Mona and the two kids to disappear from Thaddeus’ life. However, the kids had bonded with the man. It would hurt Thaddeus and the kids to leave again… The dinner carried on with laughter and joy, and nobody noticed that Mona was secretly worried about something… The activity after dinner was what the kids had been looking forward to. It was time for snowmen and fireworks. Dressed in thick down
“Don’t try and look for an excuse.” The man held Mona’s wrist and pulled her into his arms. Trapping her in his embrace, he domineeringly declared, “We’ll send the little ones to their great-grandfather tomorrow. It won’t affect our honeymoon.” Mona’s eyes popped out. Honeymoon?Honeymoon, her *ss. “Thaddeus, do you know how much of a hold-up you put on my stuff with your rash decision?” Mona was frustrated. “I won’t go with you to Swertland. You can go by yourself. I want to stay here and take care of my stuff.” Thaddeus smirked. Despite the smile on his face, he carried himself in such an imposing manner. “So, you don’t want to come along? Well, I have a hundred and one ways to make you go with me.” Mona shivered from the fear she had of the man. “Stop with the intimidation tactics. That’s just a low blow.” Thaddeus smiled wickedly and rubbed down on her lips. The hot breath from his parted lips blew against the side of her face. Amid the frisky air, he asked, “How low?”